tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.comments2023-06-23T07:38:57.177-07:00Critical MastiffMastiffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08009663221665718199noreply@blogger.comBlogger294125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-53087754918726529462017-12-22T03:25:04.740-08:002017-12-22T03:25:04.740-08:00The "idea" that the term intifada was no... The "idea" that the term intifada was not of benign origin grabbed me as well, and I couldn't let go either. I found this. Thanks.Whiteyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05763568438021863993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-27660669906703897802015-11-06T05:59:02.792-08:002015-11-06T05:59:02.792-08:00Indeed, but interest also builds in a risk premium...Indeed, but interest also builds in a risk premium to cover losses. The upshot is that the highest interest rates are charged to those least able to pay--a perverse outcome. Mastiffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08009663221665718199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-51590477454401286802015-11-05T19:12:50.747-08:002015-11-05T19:12:50.747-08:00It all goes back to the Popeye Principal: Wimpy wo...It all goes back to the Popeye Principal: Wimpy would want a hamburger today and pay for it tomorrow. I am not going to comment on whether interest is "usury", but to some extent interest is to make up for the present use of money that is going to be paid back later. Frederick Bastiat did a good job on this. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-43318334673428851242015-02-07T01:54:19.311-08:002015-02-07T01:54:19.311-08:00Intellectuals are a mixed bag. Vaclav Havel was o...Intellectuals are a mixed bag. Vaclav Havel was one, and that could have broken sooner and gone worse.<br /><br />The eco-terrorism may be overstated, for the purpose of making campaign funding look non-evil:<br />http://newint.org/blog/2013/04/30/eco-terrorism-act-usa/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-38700139191443630242013-03-16T21:46:21.404-07:002013-03-16T21:46:21.404-07:00Another card in the deck here that needs to be at ...Another card in the deck here that needs to be at least considered, is a modified form of the Social Credit movement that was around prior to WWII. It is breifly, and poorly explained in Robert Heinlein's (first book written, but last book published) "For Us, The Living." There are several other explanations (Some ok, some not so good...) current on the web. The main issue I have Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-12982482712958028252012-11-29T22:32:47.959-08:002012-11-29T22:32:47.959-08:00Thanks for the input, sir. I agree in the sense th...Thanks for the input, sir. I agree in the sense that firms should be free to take whatever structure best meets their needs; I just think that we need more cards in the deck, so to speakMastiffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08009663221665718199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-84527968631797425482012-11-25T13:16:01.515-08:002012-11-25T13:16:01.515-08:00" "indigestible lumps of socialism"..." "indigestible lumps of socialism" (a quote variously attributed to David Friedman or Kevin Carson)"<br /><br />I don't think it's mine.<br /><br />I referred to the capitalist beach being made up of socialist grains of sand--but I was not implying that the hierarchical internal structure of firms was somehow a problem, merely an interesting feature of market David Friedmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06543763515095867595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-43845516950531363602012-11-03T20:46:27.417-07:002012-11-03T20:46:27.417-07:00Indeed. And in fact, the Progressives got it quite...Indeed. And in fact, the Progressives got it quite wrong. An "altruistic" collective is not the natural state of groups, and requires very tricky institutional balances to sustain. Corporatism is the worst way to go about it (except for the others that are worse, ha.)Mastiffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08009663221665718199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-66820901977724425982012-10-28T17:21:06.600-07:002012-10-28T17:21:06.600-07:00It's been weeks since I opened your piece in a...It's been weeks since I opened your piece in a tab. I think I came from Kevin's, but don't recall. I'm Leaving some odd thoughts to aid you in coming up with viable solutions against the formidable foe. I'll try to be concise, so where unclear, please ask.<br /><br />capitalism (n.) Look up capitalism at Dictionary.com<br /> 1854, "condition of having capital;" Pascalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00303025432356543062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-25609721442737810442012-07-10T08:15:52.743-07:002012-07-10T08:15:52.743-07:00"In my experience, society is the refuge of s..."In my experience, society is the refuge of scoundrels, allowing individuals to perpetrate great crimes as a group. Ganging up on people is the main function of society."<br /><br />Fair enough. And my dissertation work is about precisely that topic; this is pretty much the key problem for non-statist philosophies to work through.Mastiffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08009663221665718199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-33884320051078101612012-07-10T07:02:27.437-07:002012-07-10T07:02:27.437-07:00Not everyone is part of a society. A lot of people...Not everyone is part of a society. A lot of people find society to be very dangerous, and keep very quiet about their opinions, where as society is very loud because there is safety in numbers. In my experience, society is the refuge of scoundrels, allowing individuals to perpetrate great crimes as a group. Ganging up on people is the main function of society. And it may be that the minority are Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-20714546741291114762012-04-05T22:45:14.082-07:002012-04-05T22:45:14.082-07:00Dude, what the hell?Dude, what the hell?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-85317122979455428862011-06-28T05:46:34.307-07:002011-06-28T05:46:34.307-07:00We desperately need a couple of changes to limit g...We desperately need a couple of changes to limit government.<br /><br />1. An expiration date for every law and regulation.<br /><br />2. Term limits for all members of Congress.<br /><br />3. A House of Repeal. They do nothing except vote on laws to repeal. No filibusters - simple majority vote kills a program, regulation, or law.<br /><br />Maybe after the revolution.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-89989126715782997612011-06-14T16:30:19.557-07:002011-06-14T16:30:19.557-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-23614527647603268932011-06-14T16:28:16.241-07:002011-06-14T16:28:16.241-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-56917915483450663182010-02-05T12:48:07.039-08:002010-02-05T12:48:07.039-08:00"http://www.chiropracticmarketingsecret.com&q..."http://www.chiropracticmarketingsecret.com"> Illiteracy means inability to read and write. It is the root cause of ignorance which frustrates all development efforts of the government and the community. Eradication of illiteracy in a country like Bangladesh with so vast a population is undoubtedly a gigantic task. It is the social responsibility of all the literate people. men and DrKeithCurriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11646247437435741101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-33494685162140366762010-01-11T21:29:19.076-08:002010-01-11T21:29:19.076-08:00Also, a comment on ESOPs -- the goal of an ESOP is...Also, a comment on ESOPs -- the goal of an ESOP is to allow the employees to share in the profits that they generate. As good as it is for the owners of the business, in a well-run company and when done properly, the employees do quite well (ex: UPS original ESOP plan).<br />krcAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-54251113459714216562010-01-11T21:25:43.558-08:002010-01-11T21:25:43.558-08:00Perhaps we should rename Congress the "Circum...Perhaps we should rename Congress the "Circumlocution Office of the United States", along with state "mimi-circumlocution offices"; as just as in Dicken's day, our government is expert in "how not to do it!" <br /><br />krcAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-60444953586071431532009-12-04T20:54:52.930-08:002009-12-04T20:54:52.930-08:00This particular idea of yours is somewhat of a non...This particular idea of yours is somewhat of a non-sequitor.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06048280479730431909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-28773867385689169342008-09-02T20:37:00.000-07:002008-09-02T20:37:00.000-07:00I've got it mostly outlined, but grad school is ki...I've got it mostly outlined, but grad school is kicking my butt right now :-)<BR/><BR/>I'll see if I can get it posted before Friday, but no promises.Mastiffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08009663221665718199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-77238104159692047452008-08-29T10:47:00.000-07:002008-08-29T10:47:00.000-07:00Not to push, but Part II?Not to push, but Part II?Kevinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10324035824298948422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-90011068727490209232008-08-19T15:04:00.000-07:002008-08-19T15:04:00.000-07:00Outside of reasons of sheer principle, there's ano...Outside of reasons of sheer principle, there's another good reason to be concerned about inequality- human nature includes envy as part of the pre-installed software. In Rwanda, people were willing to kill their neighbors with machetes because they could afford shoes for their children and the machete-wielders couldn't- there was a lot more economics and envy involved than there was true tribal LabRathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05244213491162693858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-53685216645378986652008-08-19T11:04:00.000-07:002008-08-19T11:04:00.000-07:00PS--if that's part of the next post, let it lie un...PS--if that's part of the next post, let it lie until then.Kenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04780425923108876647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-70405196192412777412008-08-19T11:03:00.000-07:002008-08-19T11:03:00.000-07:00Oh, absolutely. I apologize for coming across as a...Oh, absolutely. I apologize for coming across as attacking. Is there a way, in your view, that inequality could become structural absent rigging of the game (via misuse of the machinery of coercion)? I realize I'm starting to sound like an anarcho-capitalist, but (I think) I'm still a Lockean and a fusionist.Kenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04780425923108876647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8094979.post-82730383438272922182008-08-19T10:00:00.000-07:002008-08-19T10:00:00.000-07:00In general, I agree with you—except there does com...In general, I agree with you—except there does come a point that inequality becomes structural, and irreversible by the actions of private individuals. That point is, to be sure, very far away from where we are now; the rags-to-riches story is still quite achievable in the US. But should that change, action must be taken by <I>somebody</I>, and the nature of that action would depend on the Mastiffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08009663221665718199noreply@blogger.com